Century-old Catholic church demolished after fails to sell

Published
4:42 pm EST, Tuesday, February 12, 2019

In this Monday, Feb. 11, 2019 photo, the steeple of Saint Joseph's Church in Nanticoke, Pa., is knocked down as Brdaric Excavating began the demolition of the property. The church and an adjoining rectory closed in May 2010 as part of the Catholic church consolidation. (Warren Ruda/The Citizens' Voice via AP) less

In this Monday, Feb. 11, 2019 photo, the steeple of Saint Joseph's Church in Nanticoke, Pa., is knocked down as Brdaric Excavating began the demolition of the property. The church and an adjoining rectory ... more

Photo: Warren Ruda , AP

Photo: Warren Ruda , AP

Image
1of/3

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 3

In this Monday, Feb. 11, 2019 photo, the steeple of Saint Joseph's Church in Nanticoke, Pa., is knocked down as Brdaric Excavating began the demolition of the property. The church and an adjoining rectory closed in May 2010 as part of the Catholic church consolidation. (Warren Ruda/The Citizens' Voice via AP) less

In this Monday, Feb. 11, 2019 photo, the steeple of Saint Joseph's Church in Nanticoke, Pa., is knocked down as Brdaric Excavating began the demolition of the property. The church and an adjoining rectory ... more

Photo: Warren Ruda , AP

Century-old Catholic church demolished after fails to sell

1 / 3

Back to Gallery

NANTICOKE, Pa. (AP) — A century-old Roman Catholic church in Pennsylvania has been demolished.

Some emotional parishioners were on hand as the cross-topped steeple of St. Joseph's Church in Nanticoke toppled to the ground on Monday.

St. Joseph's has been closed since 2010, and the parish was consolidated with several other churches.

Church leaders had been trying to sell the building but there were no takers.

Lorraine Beck says it's a sad day. Beck says she was a member of the choir and says she has so many memories from the church.

A spokesman for The Diocese of Scranton says they will try to find a buyer for the property once demolition is complete.

The Citizens Voice says the church was a popular worship site for many Slovak families when it was first built. Many parishioners came from coal-mining families.